The thing is we talk about God's love and it has been taken as a given but I've never thought much about it. It is an over-used figure of speech; 'God is love' or 'God loves us so much that He sent His only son to die for our sins' and numerous other catch phrases. If anyone out there is like me, who grew up in a Christian family, then we all grew up hearing these things.
A person like Prince Williams knows that diamonds and rubies are precious stones, in theory but he can NEVER have the same level of appreciation for them as most of us would. I mean, he probably grew up playing dress-up with the crown jewels. He grew up with Picassos, DaVincis and Rembrandts on the walls of his numerous palaces. He knows they are nigh priceless but they are still paintings that adorn the walls of his 'houses' as we all have them. I don't know if the analogy I'm trying to make is coming across as I intend. But I grew up knowing of God's love for me.... but I just knew. I did not fully appreciate the weight and gravity of it till this morning.
God comes down to our level to explain things to us using illustrations we are familiar with like we are in kindergarten simply because He wants us to get it. I like talking about relationships. That's what I do in my other blog. So, I was given an epiphany regarding God's love and I want to share it with you.
First of all, it is not love for lip service sake. You know how you luuuurrrrrvvvveeee Drake. Or you 'loves me some Beyonce' Or you would 'absolutely die if I don't get a pair of these gorgeous Louboutin shoes cos I love them so much'? Well, not that kind of love. God is IN LOVE WITH US. Did you catch that? In love with us.
Being in love with someone speaks of an on-going relationship. An established and solid relationship. My parents are in love with each other . Their relationship has existed for more than 30 years. That's love. But beyond being in an on-going relationship with us is how He feels about this relationship.
You know how you feel when you just start dating someone? That giddy feeling where you talk all the time...in a 24 hour day you talk for 22 hours and sleep for 2. You miss the person for the 5 minutes break you take from speaking sooooo much that you can last for only 2 minutes of the 5. You say 'hang up' ....'no....you hang up......' so much to the annoyance of those nearest and dearest to you, that they plot to steal your phone and hide it yet you still find a way to communicate through....I don't know...smoke signals or something. That sickening first couple of months in a relationship where no one exists in the universe but the two of you. It eventually wears off when you settle into the relationship and the honeymoon phase is over. If you know that feeling and you've felt that feeling; that's how God feels about us ALL THE TIME. How fantastic is that?
We give God butterflies in His tummy! Imagine that! Little you in the corner of whatever town you're reading this from, gives the King of glory butterflies in His tummy. Check this out; God is soooo crazy about us, so much so, He tattooed our names on Himself. My name is tattooed on God's person. The bible said 'we are inscribed on the palm of His hands'. He didn't hide our names somewhere like his backside o. It is visibly etched on the palm of His hands. Wow. Let me put that in some context.
You're dating a guy/girl, you are soooo in love. You can't believe how in love you are. You feel so amazing and you wonder what you can do to show this person how much he/she means to you. Ping! Light goes on in your head: Why not get a tattoo of his/her name? A tiny discreet one on your neck, or back of his name, nickname or something that is peculiar only to the two of you. You head up to the tattoo parlor, get the tat done and now that person has a visible evidence of how much you feel that person means to you.
Imagine 6 months down the line, that person dumps you. Asides from the requisite bad feeling from the break up, you now have the sour permanent reminder of how you desecrated your body for this person. How broken will you feel? I believe that's how God feels every time we turn our back on Him. My over-active imagination imagines how He would lift the palm on which my name is written, whenever I go astray and look at it long and hard, with so much sadness and heartbreak, willing me to come back to Him so we can carry on with our love.
I now see love through God's eyes by relating it with love as we humans feel it. Except God does things bigger and better than we ever can and that includes love. We love because He first loved us. I have never understood what that meant. God appeared afar and too big to be concerned with little ole me. So I have never considered the way my actions might affect Him beyond knowing that He would strongly disapprove of some of the things I did. I never considered the extent of His love in proportion with the impact of my actions. I believe that this revelation was my dose of 'act right'. Mistakes may abound in the future but having this at the back of my mind will certainly weigh in on how I act.
